ARTICLES ABOUT MORTGAGE RATES BY DATE - PAGE 2

The billboard seen by thousands of motorists on the Stevenson Expressway speaks volumes about Victor F. Ciardelli III's ambition as founder, president and CEO of Guaranteed Rate Inc. It doesn't advertise mortgage rates, although company billboards elsewhere do. It doesn't refer to the company's Chicago origins. Instead, it touts Guaranteed Rate's national industry ranking. Within five to seven years, Ciardelli's goal is to make the company he founded in 2000 one of the nation's top five mortgage companies, moving into ranks occupied by such heavy hitters as Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Quicken Loans.

Average fixed mortgage rates slipped this week, in response to a decline in 10-year Treasury yields and an underwhelming March jobs report. The average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4,34 percent this week, compared with 4.41 percent last week, Freddie Mac said in its weekly survey. A year ago, the average rate was 3.43 percent. On a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage, the average rate was 3.38 percent. That compared with 3.47 percent last week and 2.65 percent in the same week a year ago.

OSLO (Reuters) - DNB , Nordea and Skandiabanken have cut the mortgage rates they charge in Norway, the banks said on Thursday. DNB is cutting rates by 25 basis points to 3.45 percent for its best mortgage deals while Nordea is reducing its rates by 20 basis points to 3.50 percent for the best deals. Skandiabanken, owned by Swedish financial group Skandia, is cutting rates by 15 basis points to 3.55 percent. Nordea said on its website it had acted because of strong competition among banks for customers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home resales dropped slightly in February to a 19 month-low as cold weather and a shortage of homes for sale continued to sideline potential buyers. The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday home sales dropped 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.60 million units, the lowest level since July 2012, and in line with economists' expectations. January's sales pace was unrevised at 4.62 million. Even though temperatures remained chilly in February, pinching sales, a modest improvement in inventory on the market indicates buyers are expected to jump in soon.

Average mortgage interest rates eased slightly this week, but may begin to move higher again next week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.32 percent this week, compared with 4.37 percent last week and 3.54 percent a year ago, the agency said in its weekly survey. On a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage, the average interest rate of 3.32 percent was down from 3.38 percent last week. A year ago, the average rate on that loan product was 2.72 percent.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Emily Hanson would like to buy a house, but she worries that she and her husband may have to move across the country to achieve their goal. In December, Emily, a 30-year-old student, and Nels Hanson, a 33-year-old software developer, began searching in Boston, where a shortage of homes for sale has driven up prices. With a budget of $450,000, they have yet to find anything that interests them. Emily, who is studying to be a physician's assistant, said they are considering a move to Portland, Oregon, where housing is more affordable and jobs in tech and healthcare are plentiful.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. housing starts fell for a third straight month in February, but a rebound in building permits offered some hope for the housing market as it struggles to emerge from a soft patch. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday groundbreaking slipped 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 907,000 units. That followed January's revised 11.2 percent decline and suggested underlying weakness in housing activity apart from the drag of cold weather.

Average mortgage rates moved up this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan was 4.37 percent, compared with 4.28 percent last week and 3.63 percent in the same week a year ago. On a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage, this week's average rate of 3.38 percent compared with 3.32 percent last week and 2.79 percent a year ago. “The economy added 175,000 jobs in February, which was above the market...

Weaker-than-expected reports on the economy and the housing market helped push down average mortgage rates this week, after several weeks of small increases. The average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.28 percent, compared with 4.37 percent last week and 3.52 percent on the same week a year ago, Freddie Mac reported in its weekly survey. On a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage, the average rate was 3.32 percent, down from 3.39 percent last week but still higher than last year's 2.76 percent.